Young Lawyers Newsletter of the International Bar Association Public and Professional Interest Division

september 2011 Vol 17 No 1

Long established as the trading and commercial hub of the Middle East, Dubai combines the excitement of a bustling commercial centre with the wide open spaces of a luxurious resort. Located at the cross-roads of Asia, Europe and Africa, and offering facilities of the highest international standards combined with the charm and adventure of Arabia, Dubai is sure to be another premier destination for the IBA Annual Conference 2011.

To register, please contact:

International bar Association

4th floor, 10 St Bride Street, London EC4A 4AD

Tel: +44 (0)20 7842 0090 Fax: +44 (0)20 7842 0091

www.ibanet.org/conferences/Dubai2011

What will Dubai 2011 offer?• Thelargestgatheringoftheinternationallegalcommunityintheworld–ameetingplaceofmorethan

4,000lawyersandlegalprofessionalsfromaroundtheworld

• Morethan180workingsessionscoveringallareasofpracticerelevanttointernationallegalpractitioners

• Theopportunitytogeneratenewbusinesswiththeleadingfirmsintheworld’skeycities

• Registrationfeewhichentitlesyoutoattendasmanyworkingsessionsthroughouttheweekasyouwish

• Upto25hoursofcontinuinglegaleducationandcontinuingprofessionaldevelopment

• Avarietyofsocialfunctionsprovidingampleopportunitytonetworkandseethecity’skeysights

• Integratedguestprogramme

• Excursionandtoursprogramme

YouNg LAwYErs sEpTEMbER 2011 3

In this issue

From the Chair 4

Committee officers 6

IBA Annual Conference –Dubai, 30 October – 4 November 2011: Our committee’s sessions 7

Updates on Committee projects

OutstandingYoungLawyer

oftheYearAward2010 8

YoungLawyers’Committee

InternationalInternshipprogramme 9

Session Report – IBA Annual Conference, Vancouver 2010

probono:service

fornothingandexperienceforfree! 10

Professional interest

Thefuturelawyer:newtrends

inthebrazilianlegalsystem 11

Analternativeapproachto

networking:tipsformakingthe

mostofIbAconferences 12

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Catriona wattFox, London

Tel: +44 (20) 7618 2400

Fax +44 (20) 7618 2409

cwatt@foxlawyers.com

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INTERNATIONALbARAssOCIATION pUbLICANDpROFEssIONALINTEREsTDIvIsION4

FROm the ChAIR

From the Chair

W elcome to the 2011 edition of the Young Lawyers’ Committee newsletter! I am delighted to introduce myself as the

new Chair of this important and vibrant Committee within the IBA’s Public and Professional Interest Division (PPID).

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the immediate Past Chair, Eric Rieger, for his leadership and guidance over the last two years – he has certainly ensured that I have a lot to live up to.

As our existing members will know, our ongoing goal is to be the ‘go-to’ group for young lawyers all around the world; a door to the vast resources which the IBA can offer them as their careers progress. The committee works very closely with many of the other committees and fora within the IBA in order to identify specific areas of interest and relevance and ensure these are brought to the attention of those younger and perhaps less ‘IBA-experienced’ members. In short, where the mission of the IBA as a whole is to be the global voice of the legal profession, ours is to be the global voice of the young legal profession and, as always, we value your input and suggestions as to how we can achieve this aim.

The new and existing committee officers have all been working hard on developing a host of innovative and attractive sessions for the 2011 IBA Annual Conference in Dubai, 30 October – 4 November. As always, we have joined forces with other committees and forums such as the Law Firm Management Committee, the Senior Lawyers’ Committee, the Arbitration Committee, the Asia Pacific Regional Forum and the Forum for Barristers and Advocates, in order to present sessions on wide-ranging, topical issues on numerous areas of legal practice. For further details of our sessions see page 6.

The 2011 IBA Annual Conference in Dubai will once again see the presentation of the prestigious IBA Young Lawyers’ Committee’s Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year Award, in recognition of William Reece Smith Jr and sponsored by LexisNexis. You can read about the recipient of last year’s award, Natalie Prescott from the US, on pages 8-9 of this newsletter. Nominations

for yet another exceptional, over-achieving young practitioner to receive this honour are currently being considered and the winner will receive the award in Dubai.

There have also been several interesting developments since our last newsletter which I would like to share with you.

The Young Lawyers’ Committee has recently become involved with the new IBA Student Committee, with a view to working closely with this group of talented and dynamic young people so that synergetic activities and initiatives can be established. As the Student Committee is a relatively new IBA initiative we will continue to look into other ways in which the two committees can cooperate to offer the best possible value to the members of both. Of course, upon graduation, the logical next step for Student Committee members is to join the Young Lawyers’ Committee and as such we very much look forward to having a pool of active new members and potential officers, in due course, who are already familiar with all the IBA has to offer!

Further, the committee is planning, in conjunction with the Law Firm Management Committee and the Senior Lawyers’ Committee, a specialist conference to be held during 2012. The strong and hugely-successful regular cooperation between these committees at past IBA Annual Conferences has led us all to be even more ambitious and we feel the time has come to branch out on our own!

Details have yet to be finalised but preliminary topics include career planning (‘what kind of firm should I look for?’), the role of the mentor, the importance of ethics and professional values and the development of skills, from the point of view of both lawyers themselves and their firms. Certainly, the conference-organising team is confident that such an event will have much to offer young practitioners from all practice areas.

Another area we will be focusing on is the recently launched Young Lawyers’ Committee International Internship Programme. Further information on this initiative can be found on page 9. I encourage all of you who wish to gain experience and knowledge in and from other jurisdictions to sign up for this

Rouven F BodenheimerLungerichLenz

schuhmacher,Cologne

bodenheimer@

lls-law.de

YouNg LAwYErs sEpTEMbER 2011 5

FROm the ChAIR

programme and to spread to word among your colleagues and friends!

During the course of 2011, the Young Lawyers’ Committee Officers have been and will continue to be reviewing and updating the committee’s web pages to ensure they are up-to-date and offer much more in the way of resources. The use and promotion of social media is a key area as it continues to grow and develop at an astonishing rate! As such, I suggest you visit our web pages regularly to keep abreast of any new developments and additions.

The Young Lawyers’ Committee’s network of National Representatives is another area which we have been focusing on in recent months. Duties involve attempting to expand the membership of both the IBA as a whole and the Young Lawyers’ Committee within

his/her country; fostering links between Committee members and local associations for young lawyers both nationally and internationally; and providing local and regional content for the Young Lawyers’ Committee web pages and publications such as this newsletter.

We are always interested in hearing from committed individuals for this responsible, yet rewarding role. If you are interested in becoming a National Representative for your country, please do contact our National Representatives Officer, Makoto Hirasawa, at makoto.hirasawa@okunolaw.com.

Let me thank you for your continued membership; I very much look forward to taking on the leadership up this exciting group of young lawyers in the coming two years. I also look forward to seeing you in Dubai!

Outgoing Chair of the IBA Young Lawyers’ Committee, Eric Rieger, accepts a leaving gift from new Chair, Rouven Bodenheimer.

INTERNATIONALbARAssOCIATION pUbLICANDpROFEssIONALINTEREsTDIvIsION6

COmmIttee OFFICeRS

Committee officersChairrouven F BodenheimerLungerichLenzschuhmacher,CologneTel: +49 (221) 130 8160Fax: +49 (221) 130 8162bodenheimer@lls-law.de

Vice-ChairsAgustín MayerFerrereAttorneysatLaw,MontevideoTel:+598(2)6230000Fax:+598(2)6282100amayer@ferreres.com

Heather IrvineDeneysReitz,JohannesburgTel:+27(11)6858829Fax: +27 (11) 883 4000hpi@deneysreitz.co.za

events officerAdam goodmanHeenanblaikie,TorontoTel:+1(416)6436857Fax:+1(416)3608425agoodman@heenan.ca

Co-secretaryAmit BansalKundra&bansal,NewDelhiTel: +91 (11) 2923 8021Fax: +91 (11) 2923 8023amit@kundrabansal.com

Co-secretarygarrett Miller EugeneFCollins,DublinTel:+35312026400Fax:+35316675200gmiller@efc.ie

Communications officerCatriona wattFox, LondonTel: +44 (20) 7618 2400 Fax +44 (20) 7618 2409 cwatt@foxlawyers.com

Website officerrobert wakulatWakulat,TorontoTel:+1(416)4584841

ppID liaison officerChristian NielsenMoalemWeitemeyerbendtsenAdvokatpartnerselskab,CopenhagenTel:+4570701505Fax:+4570701506crn@mwblaw.dk

european Forum liaison officerMarc BaltusHeukingKühnLüerWojtek,DüsseldorfTel:+49(211)60055257Fax:+49(211)60055285m.baltus@heuking.de

American bar Assocation liaison officerrobert steven BernsteinMcCarter&English,NewYorkTel: +1 (212) 609 6834 Fax:+1(212)6450853rbernstein@mccarter.com

lpD liaison officersunil AbrahamZulRafique&partners,KualaLumpurTel: +60 (3) 6209 8228 Fax: +60 (3) 6209 8381 sunil@zulrafique.com.my

ppID Council liaison officer Eric riegerEuropeanChemicalsAgency,HelsinkiTel:+358968618649Fax:+358968618930ericrieger@web.de

National representatives officerMakoto HirasawaOkuno&partners,TokyoTel:+81(3)32743805Fax:+81(3)32722245makoto.hirasawa@okunolaw.com

Junior Communications officerBruno Barata MagalhaesCorreadeMello&Tolomei,RiodeJaneiroTel:+55(21)87470210Fax:+55(21)22324415brunobarata@cmtadv.com.br

Junior Website officerDominik ZiegenhahnGrafvonWestphalen,HamburgTel:+494035922128Fax+494035922239d.ziegenhahn@gvw.com

Junior events officer sara AhmadDubaiInternationalArbitrationCentre,DubaiTel:+971(4)2028451Fax:+971(4)2028605

ppID Administratorrobyn wheatleyppid@int-bar.org

YouNg LAwYErs sEpTEMbER 2011 7

IBA ANNUAl CONFeReNCe, DUBAI 2011: YOUNg lAwYeRS COmmIttee SeSSIONS

Young lawyers’ introductory meetingPresented by the Young Lawyers’ Committee.

A must-attend if this is your first IBA event!

IbAAnnualConferencescanberatheroverwhelmingorevenintimidating,particularlyforthosewhoareattendingoneforthefirsttime.Tohelpyoufindyourway,theYoungLawyers’Committeetraditionallyhostsanintroductorymeetingforyounglawyers,towhichyouarewarmlyinvited.

OfficersoftheYoungLawyers’CommitteewillprovideageneralintroductiontotheIbA,guideyouthroughtheconferenceprogramme,sharewithyouhowtogetthemostoutoftheconferenceandinformyouofsocialeventsparticularlytargetedatyounglawyers.Weareplanningtoaddressothertopicsofinteresttonewcomersaswell.

Moreover,ithasalsobecomeamuchappreciatedtraditionfortheYoungLawyers’CommitteetoinviteChairsfromotherIbAcommitteestopresenttheirgroupandplansfortheconferenceweek.Thishasledtotheperfectwin-winsituationinwhichyounglawyerslearnwhotoaddresswhenidentifyingtheirfocusofinterest,andinwhichcommitteesfromboththeLpDandppIDareabletoattractandrecruit‘freshblood’.Hence,makethissessionyourprioritycheck-infortheMondaymorning.Andbytheway,don’tworryifyoucan’tmakeheadnortailofthoseabbreviationsusedtwosentencesabove–thiswillbeonlyoneofthethousandtopicscoveredinthisessentialnutshelltotheIbA!

mONDAY 0930 – 1230

Advocacy in commercial litigation – what do judges want from advocates and what do advocates want from judges?Joint session with the Forum for Barristers and Advocates, the Judges’ Forum and the Litigation Committee

Whatdoesacommercialcourtjudgelookforinanadvocate?Whatdoesacommercialcourtadvocatewantfromajudge?Thissessionaimstodiscusstheissuesfacingjudgesandadvocatesintheconductofcommerciallitigation.Thepanelwillconsistofleadingcommercialcourtjudgesandlitigators.Itaimstomapoutpracticalwaysinwhichthedesireofcourtsforefficiencyandcostcontainmentcanbereconciledwiththedesireofpartiesandadvocatesforafullopportunitytoadvocatetheircases.Itwillconsidertheuseofwrittenlegalsubmissionsandwitnessstatements,theroleof

technologyandtheimportanceoforaladvocacy.Thissessionshouldbeseenascomplimentarytothesessiononadvocacyincommercialmotionsandappeals.

tUeSDAY 0930 – 1230

Intellectual property and new business models in the electronic games industryJoint session with the Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Committee

Theelectronicgamesindustryisthefastestgrowingsectorinthefieldofentertainmentandhaseasilyoutgrownfilm,publishingormusic.blockbustergamesdistributedthroughpointofsaleorMMOs(massivemultiplayeronlinegames)havereachedalevelofcomplexityanddevelopmentbudgetsthateasilycomparewithlargefilmproductions.CurrentlythevaluechainintheelectronicgamesindustryandlargeelectronicgamespublisherslikeElectronicArts,TakeTwoorActivisionblizzardareconstantlychanging,tryingtoadapttothesedevelopments.Atthesametime,newfast-growingmarketsarebeingcreated,suchasbrowsergamesthatrequireratherlowbudgetsandonlinedistributiononly.Here,playerslikebigpointorGameforgeareevolvingquickly.ThissessionwilllookatissuesofownershipandfinancingofIpandhowthedescribedchangesinfluenceknownmodels.Oneofthequestionswillbewhetherlessonsfromthefilmindustrycanbeappliedtotheelectronicgamesindustry.

tUeSDAY 0930 – 1230

Advocacy in commercial motions and appealsJoint session with the Forum for Barristers and Advocates, the Judges’ Forum and the Young Lawyers’ Committee.

Duetothecostsandrisksassociatedwithtrial,moreandmorecommercialdisputesarebeingresolvedthroughmotions.Motionsarealsothewaythatyounglitigatorsandbarristerscuttheirteeth.Appellateadvocacyutilisesmanyofthesameskillsasthoserequiredformotionsandmanyappealstodayconcerntheoutcomesofmotions.Leadingjudgeswilladdresswhattheyexpectfromlitigators’/barristers’writtenmaterialsandoralsubmissionsonmotionsandappeals.Thelitigators/barristerswillsetouthelpfulbestpractices.Theviewpointoftheclientwillalsobeexploredtoexaminewhethermotionsareresultinginthelegaleconomyassociated.

tUeSDAY 1430 – 1730

Young Lawyers committee sessions

INTERNATIONALbARAssOCIATION pUbLICANDpROFEssIONALINTEREsTDIvIsION8

IBA YOUNg lAwYeRS’ COmmIttee OUtStANDINg YOUNg lAwYeR OF the YeAR AwARD 2010

What kind of law firm is more appealing? the giant, the small, or something in between?Joint session with the Law Firm Management Committee and the Senior Lawyers’ Committee

Thetraditionaljointsessionisalwaysahighlightoftheconferencecalendar.Choosingtherightlawfirmforyouisneveraneasytask–andtherelevantconsiderationschangeasyourcareerprogresses.Experiencedlawyersfromlarge,smallandmediumlawfirmswillattendthissessiontodiscussthefactorsrelevanttomakingthisvitalchoice–whattypeoflawfirmwouldtheychooseiftheycouldstartagain?Howdoesthesizeofalawfirmaffectremuneration,trainingopportunitiesandcareeradvancement?Thissessionwillallowyounglawyerstodebatetheirchoicesandtoposequestionstoexpertsinlawfirmmanagementandseniorlawyerswithextensiveexperienceinlawfirmsofallsizes.

weDNeSDAY 0930 – 1230

Young arbitration institutions in the middle east and Asia – perspectives from providers and usersJoint session with the Arbitration Committee and the Asia Pacific Regional Forum

Internationalcommercialarbitrationisbecomingmoreandmoreimportantinaglobaleconomy,beingthebackboneforinternationaltradeandinvestmentwhenitcomestodisputeresolutionmechanismsforinternationalbusinesscontractsinvolvingcountrieswhererecognitionandenforcementofforeigncourtjudgmentsaredifficult.

WiththesignificantriseofinternationaltradeandinvestmentintheMiddleEastandAsiainthelast20years,newarbitrationinstitutionshaveemergedthatcanstillbedescribedasyoungarbitrationinstitutionscomparedtoalternativearbitrationinstitutionsthatwereestablishedlongago.WhatroledotheseyoungarbitrationinstitutionsplayintradeandinvestmentinandwiththeMiddleEastandAsia?Inwhichaspectsdotheirrules,servicesororganisationdifferfromotherwell-recognisedarbitrationinstitutions?Isthereaneedforsuchyounginstitutions–andifso,why?Whatroledolocationandculturalissuesplay?

TheseandmoreaspectsofarbitrationintheMiddleEastandAsiaadministeredbythebahrainCentreforDisputeResolution(bCDR-AAA),theDubaiInternationalArbitrationCentre(DIAC),theDubaiInternationalFinancialCentre(DIFC),theChineseEuropeanArbitrationCentre(CEAC),theKualaLumpurRegionalCentreforArbitration(KLRCA)andthesingaporeInternationalArbitrationCentre(sIAC)willbediscussedinthissessionbyonespeakereachfromtheproviderandtheuserperspective.speakersfortheuserperspectivewerechosenwithrespecttoexperiencewiththeinstitutionslistedbutalsowillcontributetheirexperiencewitharbitrationproceedingsadministeredbyotheryoungandestablishedarbitrationcentres.

thURSDAY 0930 – 1230

WeverymuchhopeyouwilljoinusattheDubaiconferencefortheYoungLawyers’Receptionat1800onThursday3November.Goingonpastyears’events,itpromisestobeafun-filledevening!

the Young Lawyers’ Committee was once again delighted to present the IBA Young Lawyers’ Committee Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year

Award in recognition of William Reece Smith Jr. This award is presented to a young lawyer

from anywhere in the world who has shown not only excellence in their work and achievements in their career to date but has also shown a commitment to professional and ethical standards.

In 2010, the award, which is sponsored by LexisNexis, was presented to Natalie Prescott.

The presentation ceremony took place at the Young Lawyers’ Reception at the IBA Annual Conference in Vancouver on 7 October 2010. The award was presented by Fernando Pelaez-Pier, IBA President; Bob Stein, Chair, PPID; Ken Thompson, LexisNexis; Eric Rieger, Chair, Young Lawyers’ Committee; and Henry Z Horbaczewski, Corporate Counsel Forum Advisory Board Member.

Natalie spoke about receiving the award:‘I am deeply honoured to be recognised as the IBA 2010 Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year. As the first female recipient of this

IbA Young lawyers’ Committee outstanding Young lawyer of the Year Award 2010

YouNg LAwYErs sEpTEMbER 2011 9

YOUNg lAwYeRS’ COmmIttee INteRNAtIONAl INteRNShIP PROgRAmme

award, I hold it very dear to my heart. I feel that I share this important accomplishment with many women and with organisations such as Mother Attorneys Mentoring Association, California Women Lawyers, and Lawyers Club of San Diego – where I serve on the Board of Directors.‘In receiving this award, I also owe the depth of gratitude to Latham & Watkins LLP, for fostering my professional growth and community work. ‘I thank them for their incredible support and urge women attorneys everywhere to continue their contributions to the profession in the face of many daily challenges.‘The IBA and LexisNexis have given me an amazing opportunity to attend the 2010

IBA Annual Conference in Vancouver and to interact with colleagues from other countries. This, in turn, has made it possible for me to meet extraordinary and accomplished professionals, such as Henry Horbaczewski, Ken Thompson, Robert Stein, Nigel Roberts and many others, who often work behind the scene to foster the growth of the IBA, legal community, and young attorneys around the globe. I am honoured to join the excellent slate of prior honourees with incredible accomplishments, and I thank the IBA and LexisNexis for this recognition.’

The 2011 Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year Award ceremony will take place in Dubai at the Young Lawyers’ Reception on Thursday 3 November.

As noted in the message on page 4 from the Chair, the IBA has launched an initiative to provide a platform to law students and

recent law graduates to get in touch with law firms from around the globe to assist them in securing overseas internships. The

Young lawyers’ Committee International Internship programme

programme will act as a link between law firms listed therein and potential interns. Details of the programme can be found on the Young Lawyers’ Committee page of the IBA website, at www.ibanet.org/PPID/Constituent/Young_Lawyers_Committee/Default.aspx.

INTERNATIONALbARAssOCIATION pUbLICANDpROFEssIONALINTEREsTDIvIsION10

SeSSION RePORt – IBA ANNUAl CONFeReNCe, VANCOUVeR 2010

Session Co-ChairsAdam Goodman Heenan Blaikie, Toronto,

Ontario, Canada; Events Officer, Young Lawyers’ Committee

Robin Sully Canadian Bar Association, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

SpeakersElisabeth Baraka Advocates for International

Development (A4ID), London, EnglandBruno Barata Magalhães Correa de Mello &

Tolomei Advogados, Rio de Janeiro, BrazilDonald Batterson Jenner & Block, Chicago,

Illinois, USBeatriz Boza Ciudadanos al Día, Lima, PeruJamie Maclaren Access Pro Bono Society of British

Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaMonique Villa Thomson Reuters Foundation,

London, England

The session was a great opportunity to discuss pro bono work around the globe, especially because the speakers came from different areas.

Bruno Barata Magalhaes spoke about the situation of pro bono work in Brazil. He presented the work of the Brazilian Young Lawyers’ Association in poor communities and the possibilities of doing this kind of work over the internet.

After Bruno’s presentation, the spectators heard three important presentations of organisations that support pro bono work. Elisabeth Baraka spoke about the very interesting work of the Advocates for International Development around the world.

Jamie Maclaren spoke about the work that the Access Pro Bono Society develops

in Canada, in particular, legal assistance in public squares.

Monique Villa gave a very interesting presentation of Trust Law, an online tool of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, where law firms can assist NGOs’ and social entrepreneurs’ requests regarding pro bono work.

Finally, Donald Batterson did a presentation about the law firms’ vision of pro bono work. The spectators could learn about how the lawyers do pro bono work and what the law firms think about it.

There is no doubt that pro bono work is important not only for those who receive it, but also for those who practice it. Assisting people in need is priceless. This is the essence of pro bono. It is a lawyer’s duty. The legal profession has a social aspect, and every lawyer has a duty to satisfy this noble role.

Pro bono work cannot be a right or an option. Lawyers have the responsibility to give back to society the technical education they had. Pro bono work brings several bonuses for the lawyer, not only by helping people in need, but by professional contacts that can be made.

Sessions with this topic should be covered in every IBA Annual Conference. The pro bono work reaches not only young lawyers but all kinds of legal professionals. This specific session was very interesting to show how the young lawyers deal with pro bono work. The use of the internet, Trust Law, and the possibility of young lawyers organising themselves through associations to make pro bono work were the most important conclusions the spectator achieved in that session.

pro bono: service for nothing and experience for free!Joint session with the Pro Bono and Access to Justice Committee

tUeSDAY 5 OCtOBeR

Bruno Barata magalhaesCorreadeMello&

Tolomei,RiodeJaneiro

brunobarata@

cmtadv.com.br

Session Report – IBA Annual Conference, Vancouver 2010

YouNg LAwYErs sEpTEMbER 2011 11

the FUtURe lAwYeR: New tReNDS IN the BRAzIlIAN legAl SYStem

A lthough the Brazilian legal market has been increasing at a rapid pace, it is worth pointing out that the country currently has more

than 800,000 lawyers and more than 1,000 law schools. Every year 83,000 law students finish at their law school, but only 20,000 students are approved in the Brazilian Bar exam (required to practice law in Brazil) at their first attempt.

In this scenario, one could pose some simple questions:• Willeverynewyounglawyeralwayshavea

place in this fiercely competitive market? and•Whatarethecharacteristicsorskills

a lawyer must develop to address and articulate legal issues to compete fairly for a place in Brazil’s legal market?

Currently much has been said about crises: the financial crisis, the crisis of the Legal education system and crisis of conscience. Facts such as the high failure rate of candidates in the first stage of the Brazilian Bar Exam and the growing number of lawsuits, combined with the slowness of their resolution, suggest that we are in a moment which definitely requires deep reflection so that changes may be implemented effectively. Various sectors of society are already being discussed in this regard.

Today, it is a worldwide requirement that a young professional must have at least four important competences: the ability to find information (data finding), the capacity to solve problems, to be proactive, and to be capable of networking (ie, the skills to create and cultivate relationships and contacts).

The above competences are deemed to be directly linked to the modern advocacy, and their requirement grows steadily in the same pace of market opportunities. Issues involving some emerging legal areas, such as oil and gas, shipbuilding, arbitration and mediation, agribusiness, environmental law, intellectual property and complex infrastructure contracts, have also contributed to this perceived trend.

In this context, there is a need for lawyers to develop:• aninterdisciplinarytraininginfinance,

accounting and economics; and• anabilitytohaveaholisticapproach,

thinking globally and acting systemically.Moreover, there is also a need to understand

modern concepts such as governance, sustainability and innovation which permeate nearly all major projects today.

The future lawyer must face any crisis or conflict, not as something which is ‘bad or good’, but as an opportunity to develop new insights and possibilities. They should always focus on all possible opportunities available in the case in order to reach the most efficient (practical) result. In this sense, the future lawyer may use a preventive approach, often out of court, as an attempt to solve their client’s grievances. In addition a more transparent and personal contact with clients is becoming a hallmark at present.

As a direct result of this new dynamics, imposed by a globalised market, law firms and legal departments have been focusing on interdisciplinary performances. Many offices already have on their staff (or partners), executives who are responsible for managing professionally their business activities.

These changes really represent a paradigm shift. Law firms and top law schools, embedded with notions of creativity and innovation, become important centres where a multidisciplinary dialogue between different areas of knowledge takes place and becomes their trademark. The provision of legal services by offering a variety of resources and alternatives from interdisciplinary actions (a result of dialogue between different fields of knowledge) increases the range of possibilities that clients have at their disposal to satisfy their interests.

Since we live in a global world, and we are all interconnected, it is worth mentioning two contemporary concepts: sole responsibility and essential participation. These two concepts state that while legal departments or law firms work focusing on the best possible outcome for their client, each lawyer is responsible for her or his share of action. Hence, it is recommended that the future young lawyer merges the features and capabilities identified above, in order to become better prepared to deal with new professional demands, academic disciplines and legal contexts which are still to come.

the future lawyer: new trends in the brazilian legal system

Rafael Alves de Almeida*

Getuliovargas

FoundationRiode

JaneiroschoolofLaw

rafael.almeida@fgv.br

INTERNATIONALbARAssOCIATION pUbLICANDpROFEssIONALINTEREsTDIvIsION12

AN AlteRNAtIVe APPROACh tO NetwORkINg: tIPS FOR mAkINg the mOSt OF IBA CONFeReNCeS

I do not profess to be a networking expert but rather someone who enjoys a good chat. There are marketing gurus whose many great networking ideas can be

searched on the internet. Rather than plagiarise them, set out below is the way I approach conference networking – rightly or wrongly.

Approach:

•Forgetitisnetworking;•Forgetyoursalespitch;•Havefun;•Enjoyit;and•Meetsomeinteresting(andsomenotso

interesting) people

how to enjoy networking

• It’seasiersaidthandone.Likeanexam,prepare, prepare, prepare;

•Clearlyanswersomequestionsbeforeyoustep into the room:– Why are these people here? – Who do I want to talk to?– Do I have business cards?– Do I have an interesting story about our

business (only if called upon to give it)? and– Do I know a few icebreakers?

Remember to be confident. If there is an attendance list, review it before going;

•Uponarrival,don’tconsideritanetworkingevent. Think of it as a party and an opportunity to meet new people rather than give a sales pitch. Be happy and interested. You will enjoy it so much more and be more likely to get something out of it. It won’t feel like work and people are more likely to enjoy your company;

•Bebold.Havethecouragetointroduceyourself to people. If you know someone else, go up to them. Then bring another person into your conversation. People are drawn to others discussing matters rather than a lone attendee sipping his coffee all by himself. You can use the first attendee as a means to extend the group and you get the extra kudos for making others feel welcome;

•Forgettheselling,thisisalongtermmatter.Enjoy yourself. However, be polite;

•Thesenetworkingopportunitiesarelike social media on the web. People are drawn to websites from which they can benefit. Listen to the other attendees. Find out how they can benefit from you. Solve their problems. Give them guidance without being condescending. It doesn’t have to be work-related;

•Thisisanopportunityforthepersontounderstand that they can relate to you – this opportunity is to build a relationship, not pitch for new work; and

•Theworkstartsagainaftertheevent.Keep the details of the people you met and make informal contact shortly after the event. Remind them of some funny anecdote or follow up on some development that you mentioned; not necessarily professional. Don’t send the global ‘bcc’ e-mail reminding them that you met them last night. It’s boring and reads like spam.

This approach is a little different in that the work is before and after the event. During the event, enjoy it. Does it work? I don’t know, but it sure makes it more fun.

An alternative approach to networking: tips for making the most of IbA conferences

garrett millerEugeneFCollins,

Dublin

gmiller@efc.ie.